I started as a writer and when I sent my demos out everyone wanted to know who was singing and if that person wanted a record deal.

It doesn't matter the genre or type of art, if it's authentic there's an apparent beauty to it and as an artist, that's very inspiring.

I'm creating music - it doesn't matter if anyone else likes it.

Lionel Richie told me forget about the critics. But if you come back with hit after hit, you don't have to worry about anything.

It feels really great to be popular.

I think I've tried to stay true to my music since the beginning. It's kind of hard because of the access and technology but I just do what I do.

I just do what I do and hope it's accepted by the public at large. It's different from when Marvin Gaye and Stevie revolutionized what music was 25 years ago. Now there's all this technology that's available to everyone. It's tough to be ahead of anyone.